blog

Culling male chicks is coming to an end

Culling day old male chicks from layer breeds is much under debate in the western world. But a reliable solution is there. “In ovo sexing” has become reality and is as accurate as current manual sexing methods. The Seleggt technology is running in a robot carousel, developed by HatchTech Incubation Technology. Under the “respeggt” label, eggs which have been laid by layers which originate from this system, are available in European supermarkets. - By Ad Bal

The culling of male chicks from layer breeds directly after hatch, has been common practice for decades (today 300 million in the EU alone). Not a pleasant practice though, but an alternative wasn’t there. After all, these birds have been bred for egg production, rather than growing for meat. Consequently, they have limited value, apart from feeding them to predators in zoo gardens. Despite some niche alternatives, like the roosterburger from Lidl, there is simply no commercially acceptable use of these chicks. Moreover, in ovo vaccination of male chicks is waste of hatching capacity, vaccine and labour.
Yet, through extensive research, the solution is there and will soon be available on a commercial scale. Various methods have been and are still being researched. The method which is currently available, was developed by German based company Seleggt, in collaboration with the University of Leipzig and REWE retail group from Germany. This Seleggt technique is accurate and operational and has been installed in a carousel robot, developed by HatchTech. Currently, this machine is running in a Seleggt layer hatchery in The Netherlands where it is tested under practical, daily circumstances.
This is just in time, as new legislation on this matter has been adopted in Germany and France. As of the first of January 2022, the culling of male chicks will be prohibited in both countries. And it is likely that other EU countries will follow soon thereafter. Layer hatcheries will therefore have less than two years to find a solution.

3000 eggs per hour With the Seleggt method, the eggs are placed in the carousel at day 9. At that moment, the chick embryo does not experience pain yet. A laser beam then pierces a very small hole through the eggshell (0,3 mm). Thus, a small droplet of “allantoic fluid” (urine) can be collected. Onwards, a droplet of marker is added to the fluid. After 30 minutes, with an accuracy of 98 percent, a colour signal makes clear whether there’s a male or female embryo inside the egg. One carousel is running at a capacity of about 3000 eggs per hour.
Table eggs which have been...

Continue reading?

Register and get unlimited access to all our articles, polls, questions and more..

Anouk de Jong

Join the discussion

0 comments

Cookies on VIV

Jaarbeurs uses cookies to optimise your experience on our website, to analyse the use of our websites, to make it possible to share social media content and for targeted advertising purposes.
This link takes you to a list of the special cookies and cookie providers Jaarbeurs uses on its websites.

For more information on the use of cookies and how we process data, please read our Privacy statement.

By clicking “Yes, I accept cookies” you agree to the use of cookies and comparable technologies.